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Iranian writer
JamalZadeh |
Seyed Mohammed Jamal
Zadeh, the famous author and the innovator of Persian modern story–writing,
The writer of “Once upon a Time”, “Lunatic Asylum” and “The Water's Way”
and… books, crossed from the land of death and murder, exactly in the
days that Ottoman Armenians were vagrant in the deserts and the
Demon of death plumaged on them. He wrote his observations under the
title of “My personal observations In world war one”. He emphasis
that what is written in this chapter, is all the things and the
events that he Personally saw them and saw them for oneself. He
left Berlin for Baghdad in Spring of 1915, first went to |
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Istanbul and then Aleppo and
Baghdad, and
returned from the same way.
" We moved from Baghdad and Aleppo towards Istanbul by hand-cart
and cart. From
the first day’s of our journey, we met many groups of Armenians, which
strangely were unbelievable, and the Turkish armed and rider
gendarmes drove them (on foot) towards death and perdition. First it made us
very surprised, but little by little we fall into the habit.
That even we did not look at them, and indeed it was hard to look at them.By the hit of lashes
and weapons, they drove forward hundreds of weeping weak and on foot
Armenian women and men with their children.
Young men weren't seen among the people, because all the young men were send
to the battle fields or were killed
for precaution (joining to the Russian army). Armenian girls had shaved
all their hairs, and were completely bald, let not Arab and Turkish men
annoy them. Two-three gendarmes by the hit of the lashes, drove this
groups forward, like cattle. If one of the captives because of tiredness
and weakness or accident, was remained behind, he was kept back for
ever (he was killed.), and the groaning of his relatives were useless. So
step by step, we saw Armenian men and women who were fallen near the
road and they were dead, or
they were giving life or agony of death. Later we understood that some of
the young residents of that area had not kept honor of some Armenian girls
who were dying or had died in order to satisfy their lust. Our way was
in the direction of Western Bank of Euphrates, and everyday we saw the
corpses in the river, which the river carry them with it. One night from
these nights, we lodged in a place which was relatively habitable, and
we could buy a lamb from the residents and cut its head and grill it. We
disembowel the lamb near-by and it was a green liquid, like a liquid
pottage (soup). Suddenly we saw a group of Armenian, which the
gendarmes lodged them near to us, fell on the green liquid and ate
it with guzzle and greedy. It was a sight which I will never forget it.
Again, another day we lodged in a place, which a big caravan from the same
Armenian under the control of Ottoman ride police were
staying there. An Armenian woman with dead face and figure, came near to
me, and with French language said: ”for God’s sake, buy this
two diamonds from me and instead give me some food, because my
children are dying from hunger.” Believe! that I didn’t took the
diamonds, but I gave them some food. Even our food , little by
little draw to an end, but yet there was several days to reach Aleppo,
we encounter distress. We reach Aleppo and lodged in a big
guest–house, its name was “Prince guest-house”, and the owner
was an Armenian. Frighten as something, he came to us and said, Jamal
Pasha entered Aleppo, and lodged in this guest-house, I’m scared that
he will arrest and kill me, and seize the guest-house. By entreat and
implore he wanted from us to go to Jamal pasha who was known as
cruelty, and mediate. He said you are honorable people and maybe
your mediate be effective, but it remained ineffective, and after hours
it was revealed that the Armenian man was arrested and was send to
Beirut and its suburbs, it was known that, a big shambles was made
there. In short, we had a strange days, It was like a very frightening
nightmare, which sometimes dominates me, and it saddens and
persecutes me.
Geneva
14th January, 1971 Seyed Mohammad Ali JamalZadeh."
What you red was
a summery of JamalZadeh’s observations from Armenian massacre in
Ottoman Turkey. |
